The invention relates to a device for mounting and fixing the hydraulic unit of an anti-lock system (ABS) and/or a drive-slip control (ASR) in a road vehicle's engine space, comprising a bracket having a baseplate which is fastenable to a region of the body, and from which at least two supporting legs arranged at a distance from each other project upwardly, cylindrical rubber-buffer bearing elements in the form of a sleeve or pot for mounting in a vibration-insulating manner, i.e. vibrations with deflections occurring in the direction of the journal axes and vibrations with deflections occurring radially thereto. The hydraulic unit in a three-point mounting manner, via axis-parallel bearing journals projects from a housing of the hydraulic unit and has central axes extending parallel to the baseplate.
In the known devices which conform to standard production, a bracket is used as a carrier for the hydraulic unit and is itself fastenable to the vehicle body. The hydraulic unit is mounted on the bracket in a vibration-insulating manner by three rubber bearings. These bearings each comprise a bearing journal connected firmly to the housing of the hydraulic unit, a rubber buffer surrounding the said bearing journal coaxially and a pot-shaped sleeve which receives the rubber buffer and on the bottom of which the rubber buffer is supported axially resiliently and, surrounding the bearing journal coaxially, is also supported on the housing wall of the hydraulic unit.
The central longitudinal axes of the bearings of these known devices extend parallel to one another, horizontally in the conventional installation position. Arranged at the rear of the bracket, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, are two receiving sleeves which are each welded in the bottom region of the sleeve to a supporting leg of the bracket projecting upwards from the baseplate of the latter. In the installed state, the front bearing element in the form of a pot-shaped sleeve is welded to the upwardly projecting leg of an angle piece which is itself fixable to the baseplate of the bracket. The known device makes it necessary to mount the hydraulic unit by insertion thereof, with its two rear rubber buffers already arranged on the bearing journals, into the receiving sleeves provided for them, thereafter slipping the front receiving sleeve arranged on the angle piece onto the rubber buffer of the front bearing of the hydraulic unit and subsequently fastening the angle piece to the baseplate of the bracket, the latter already being fixed to the body beforehand. To guarantee a sufficiently firm fit of the rubber buffers in the pot-shaped receiving sleeves, their clear diameter is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the rubber buffers, so that in the installed state these are under a minimum radial prestress.
The known device has at least the following disadvantages. The step of joining the two rear rubber bearings together is troublesome because the increasing frictional resistance of two rubber bearings in their receiving sleeves has to be overcome simultaneously. The attachment of the angle piece carrying the third receiving sleeve to the third rubber buffer of the hydraulic unit is also laborious since the latter has to be raised somewhat to make this attachment possible. On the other hand, if the receiving sleeve of the front rubber bearing together with the angle piece carrying it is already attached before the two rear rubber bearings are joined together, it becomes appreciably more difficult to handle the hydraulic unit. There is also the danger that the bearing elements of the front rubber bearing will be displaced relative to one another or will come loose. The fixing of the angle piece carrying the receiving sleeve for the rubber buffer of the front rubber bearing is an additional operation which lengthens the time involved in mass production assembly.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, the improvement of a mounting device such that the mounting of the hydraulic unit becomes substantially easier and a specific and short mounting time is obtainable.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing bearing elements arranged on supporting legs in the form of upwardly open partial shells which carry the rubber buffers over a lower sector region and equipped at their ends facing away from one another with radial bottom flanges to ensure axial support of the rubber buffers. Shell parts are attachable to these partial shell-shaped bearing elements fixed to the bracket and complete the surrounding of the buffer elements over a 360.degree. region and are guided displaceably in the axial direction on the shell-shaped bearing elements fixed to the bracket. The displaceable shell parts are secured against radial shifting as a result of positive engagement with the bearing elements and against axial shifting by catch elements locking resiliently into mutual engagement with the bearing elements.
Several advantages are afforded by the above features of the present invention. For instance, the bracket can be a one-piece sheet-metal part. After the bracket has been fastened to the body, all the bearing elements fixed to the bracket are also set in their desired position. The hydraulic unit can be slipped simply and easily from above, together with the rubber buffers attached to the bearing journals, onto the bearing elements fixed to the bracket and, if necessary, pressed somewhat into these. It is likewise possible in a simple way to complete the bearing elements located on the bracket to form altogether essentially pot-shaped receiving sleeves by pushing on the additional shell elements for example with the aid of a relatively lightweight hammer with a plastic striking part. Mounting can be carried out by simple operations which can be executed in the shortest possible time.
The features of the present invention also provide a configuration of the bearing elements fixed to the bracket which is simple and which is also advantageous in terms of mass production. In addition, the displaceable shell elements provide a functionally beneficial design.
Other features of the present invention provide a stable configuration of catch elements on the bearing elements fixed to the bracket and of those guided displaceably thereon, so as to provide a reliable securing of the displaceable shell elements against axial shifts. Additional catch elements also achieve a correspondingly increased safety of the fixing.
The arrangement of such catch elements according to the present invention is beneficial both functionally and in terms of mass production. A presently preferred embodiment is characterized by an especially simple configuration of the device as a whole, is easy to mount and can be produced in a technically simple way, especially in the event that the displaceable shell elements are injection-molded plastic parts.